Homeless youths

In a short, sad video, a slight youth with close-cropped hair and blue eyes talks frankly about what it was like to find shelter in Louisville after he became homeless.

"Nice, hot shower every night," said Nick Sowders, 23. "A clean bed. A place to lay down and get some sleep, not to lay on concrete or on the cold ground somewhere."

An increasing number of such young adults in the Louisville area are finding themselves homeless and without a safe place to stay, according to a Courier-Journal story Tuesday by reporter Chris Kenning. Mr. Sowders tells his story in the accompanying video by Courier-Journal photographer Alton Strupp.

Spurred by concern over teens and young adults living on the streets or in shelters, the Louisville Coalition for the Homeless, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and other advocates are calling on the community to do more to help.

Various organizations have tried to respond to the need. Last year the coalition and other advocacy groups formed the Coalition Supporting Young Adults. This summer, the YMCA opened a drop-in center for youths and young adults seeking food, showers, clothing, help with job searches and a welcoming place to visit and get off the streets.

Yet more is needed, advocates said at a press event Monday designed to draw attention to the problem.

Advocates who work to help the homeless say they are alarmed by the increased numbers of young people seeking help at local shelters or through other services, such as soup kitchens. Many report they have no family able to help them, some have turned 18 and "aged out" of the social service system after spending much of their childhood in foster care.

Last year, 555 people ages 18 through 24 stayed in local homeless shelters for adults, more than twice the number reported in 2010. Many report no basic family support that most teens and young adults take for granted.

Mayor Fischer urged more community support for these young people, pointedly calling on citizens not to "walk the other way and say it's not my problem."

Many agencies such as the coalition, its members or the YMCA are in need of donations or volunteers.

And our neighbors from the Metro area across the Ohio River should join in. That includes Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore, who earlier this year said he didn't want such folks congregating at the city's front door.

This is no time to close the door on those in need.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Homeless youths

In a short, sad video, a slight youth with close-cropped hair and blue eyes talks frankly about what it was like to find shelter in Louisville after he became homeless.